Union Space Center
Union Space Center (USC) is the primary body for space research under the control of the Government of the Kalmar Union, and one of the leading space research organizations in the world. It was established in its modern form in 1994 as a result of coordinated efforts initiated earlier by the agencies of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Taking into consideration its budget, it is probably one of the most efficient space organizations on the globe. Under the guidance of a number of scientists, USC has conducted a variety of operations for both Kalmar Union and foreign clients. USC's satellite launch capability is provided by indigenous launch vehicles and launch sites. In 2005, USC successfully launched its first lunar probe while future plans include manned space missions, further lunar exploration, and interplanetary probes. USC has several field installations as assets, and cooperates with the international community as a part of several bilateral and multilateral agreements. Vision The center vision as defined by the guiding committee states: "Space research and exploration is an essential instrument for the defense of life on Earth; the lever for technological progress; the key to existing in a modern society; essential for developing an economy based on knowledge; and the central attraction for scientific and qualified human resources." The vision is "to preserve and broaden the comparative advantage of the Kalmar Union and to place it among the group of leading countries in the space research and exploration area." The main goals for vision realization are: *To build and to support satellite systems for space research and for Earth research from space. *To develop technologies, knowledge and scientific infrastructure (including laboratories and human resources) required for space research. *To promote international cooperation in space research and exploration, and for strengthening the national interests of the Kalmar Union. *To promote ties between Kalmar Union society, space research, and exploration. USC has signed cooperation agreements with several space agencies. Projects Launchers *'Ullr: '''Ullr is a family of Kalmar Union solid fuel rockets derived from converted Peacekeeper Brazorian intercontinental ballistic missiles. They are built by Locked Martin, Natech, Saab Aerospace and USC. **'Ullr I': The original Ullr launch vehicle. Payload 580 kg to a 185 km, 28.5 degree orbit or 310 kg to a 740 km sun-synchronous orbit. **'Ullr II': A suborbital target vehicle, essentially consisting of a Minuteman II with Orbital guidance and control systems. Payload 460 kg on 6700 km suborbital trajectory. **'Ullr III': A suborbital target vehicle. Payload 3060 kg on a 6700 km suborbital trajectory. **'Ullr IV': The Ullr IV combines U.S Government-furnished solid rocket motors from decommissioned Peacekeeper ICBMs with technologies from other Orbital-built launch vehicles. Payload 1735 kg to a 185 km, 28.5 degree orbit. **'Ullr V': An '''Ullr V' five-stage version has also been conceptualized. It would have an additional upper stage for small Geostationary Transfer Orbit, lunar, and interplanetary missions. *'Ariane': Ariane is a series of a European civilian expendable launch vehicles for space launch use. The name comes from the French spelling of the mythological character Ariadne; the word is also used in French to describe some types of hummingbird. It was developed initially by France and later by European Space Agency. Last versions of Ariane are being developed jointly by USC and the space agency of France. Satellites in operation *'KUSS'Baltic Union Satellite System(Kalmar Union Satellite System): KUSS is a series of multipurpose geostationary satellites launched by USC to satisfy the telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology and search-and-rescue needs of Kalmar Union. Commissioned in 2002, BUSS is the one of the largest domestic communication system in the world. It is a joint venture of the USC, the Kalmar Union Armed Forces, Saab Aerospace and Natech. The overall coordination and management is made by USC. *'KURS' (Kalmar Union Remote Sensing): Kalmar Union Remote Sensing satellites are a series of earth observation satellites, built, launched and maintained by USC. The KURS series provides remote sensing services to the country. It is the largest constellation of remote sensing satellites for civilian use in operation today in the world. All the satellites are placed in polar sun-synchronous orbit and provide data in a variety of spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions to enable several programs to be undertaken relevant to national development. It is used in mapping services, flood control, snow-melt run-off estimates for planning water use in down stream projects, Hydro-geomorphological maps for locating underground water resources for drilling well, urban planning, forest survey, enviromental analysis, mineral prospecting, ocean and coastal studies, etc. *'Nótt' - Development, assembly and launching of a scientific microsatellite for Earth research. In association with Kongsberg and Natech Aerospace. *Several scientific satellites like Astrid, Odin and Prisma Satellites in development *'Njörðr' -''' It is Kalmar Union´s first dedicated astronomy satellite and is scheduled to launch in 2019. A large number of leading astronomy research institutions in Kalmar Union and abroad are jointly building various instruments for the satellite. Important areas requiring broad band coverage include studies of astrophysical objects ranging from the nearby solar system objects to distant stars, to objects at cosmological distances. Astrosat is currently proposed as a multi-wavelength astronomy mission on a satellite into a near-Earth, equatorial orbit. The 5 instruments on-board cover the visible (320-530 nm), near UV (180-300 nm), far UV (130-180 nm), soft X-ray (0.3-8 keV and 2-10 keV) and hard X-ray (3-80 keV and 10-150 keV) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. *'''Thor - Thor is a group of satellites belonging to the Forsvarsdepartementet . The capabilities and systems of this group of satellites are classified, but it is believed that in addition to being used as a communications system they have systems that could be the starting point for the implementation of weapons systems. The first satellite is scheduled to launch in 2022. International Moon Station USC is one of the main sponsors of the International Moon Station project. USC participates in the design and future construction of various modules of the station while some Kalmar Union companies are also collaborating on the project with the design and manufacture of future vehicles and all types of systems. *Lunar Rover 2011 *Lunar Transport Vehicle Field installations *Esrange Spaceport *Andøya Rocket Range *SvalSat *Tromsø Ground Station *TrollSat Antarctica Kalmar Union Space Industry Category:Kalmar Union Category:Technology Category:Government agencies in Kalmar Union